Dries van Noten's Flamboyant Prints Take a Sexy Turn for Spring 2016

Forties silhouettes added a dose of glamour to what was otherwise a classic Dries collection.

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A look from Dries Van Noten's spring 2016 collection. Photo: Imaxtree

The spring 2016 collections won't arrive in stores for six more months, and already I'm extremely tired of deconstructed blazers and white shirts — just about every designer has decided that this is the season to do it.

And so it was nice to arrive at Dries van Noten's show Wednesday and see clothes that hadn't been torn apart and re-sewn, or hanging off one shoulder. Accompanied by a string quartet positioned center stage, models walked out in familiar clothes with a retro feel, aided by '40ish rolled hair and cat-eye sunglasses. There were bustier tops and dresses, high-waisted skirts and pants, and strong-shouldered blazers and coats that allowed van Noten's riotous interplay of color, print and embroidery to seize the focus. In his show notes, van Noten described the collection as "flamboyant, bold, impulsive, vivacious, observant, infatuated, jubilant, kinky, fearless, flirtatious" — but there was a tongue-in-cheek approach to the sexiness, the way the bustier tops were styled over flesh-tone turtlenecks that looked as if they'd been inked in henna, the sexy pencil skirts fluffed up with big, girlish bows.

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In the end, it was hard to pick out which pieces were highlights — at the risk of sounding too effusive, van Noten has a way of making nearly every piece feel special. We were taken by the high-waisted trousers, done first in a rich peacock blue and gold silk jacquard, and then in grey with fuschia birds' feathers; printed silk dresses with sheer overlays that hung simply from the shoulders before fanning into curtains of tulle; a grey grid-print coat embroidered with hot pink feathers; and towards the end, a series of blouses and narrow midi skirts with sinuous ruffles sweeping down the fronts. Platform sandals were the shoe style of choice, done in fabrics and sequin embroideries that harmonized with the clothes.

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Dries van Noten Spring 2011 Cheat Sheet:
deceptively narrow, squared-off wedges
ombre
menswear
THE white shirt dress
shimmer
sparkle
Oriental prints
wide shoulders
wide legs
PARIS--Has Dries Van Noten ever produced a bad collection? Not that I can remember, and I've been studying the printsmaster since the mid-'90s. But this one was particularly palatable, mostly because he kept the prints to a minimal--I'm getting sick of digital textiles, aren't you?--and produced a collection that, while anything but trendy, was incredibly on-point and wearable.

"Chic" is an overused word but it's an apt one to describe Dries Van Noten's spring 2012 collection. There was a calm elegance to his show, which opened with boxy separates and shift dresses that seemed early '60s and couture inspired, all of it in a soothing grey-toned palette.
There were plenty of prints, of course--this is Dries after all. There was a tropical palm leaf one, an etched 17th century one, and a digital floral, and cityscapes (reinforced by a soundtrack infused with city noises) all blocked together at times on the same frocks. Color was gradually introduced but never to shock. First the palm tree prints became green, and then there were shocks of magenta which contrasted nicely with the grey. I loved the cropped jackets, especially the Spanish toreador ones, as well as the perfect printed collared button-downs.

Even though Dries Van Noten showed his Fall 2013 collection two days ago, I saw it for the first time today.
I, along with around 30 other invited guests, was shut out of Wednesday's show at the Hotel de Ville after building security threw some glass barricades in front of us following a change in venue capacity.
But maybe it was meant to be--because in the end, I was able to see Van Noten's stellar fall collection up close and personal in his showroom instead of on the runway.